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Blind fear

CHILDREN who are afraid of the dark may be suffering from a form of night blindness.

Gordon Dutton, an ophthalmologist at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow, describes two children with an inherited form of night blindness who developed a profound fear of the dark (British Medical Journal, vol 326, p 211). Although they could see in well-lit conditions, they saw nothing at all in the dark.

Parents and doctors should not simply assume that children who are afraid of the dark are seeking attention or suffering from an irrational fear, warns Dutton.